You’ve probably seen the KSI Labubu meme floating around social media. Here’s what happened: A TikToker created a custom Labubu toy with a completely black-painted face and red bandana to look like British YouTuber KSI. The internet exploded when TikToker @lilzbullzofficial posted her creation in early August 2025.
People immediately saw a problem. The black-painted face looked exactly like blackface – those racist caricatures from old minstrel shows that mocked Black people. The doll itself comes from Labubu, a popular collectible toy. These furry elf-like creatures have exactly nine sharp teeth, pointy ears, and mischievous grins. People queue for hours just to buy them worldwide.
The controversy started because the creator painted the doll’s face jet black instead of using brown tones that would actually represent KSI’s skin color. This spread like wildfire because it combined three explosive elements: a trending toy, a famous creator, and racial insensitivity.
Origin Story
August 1, 2025, 4:24 PM GMT – British TikToker The Jungle Pups (@lilzbullzofficial) uploaded a video showing her custom creation. She held up the doll and proudly called it “the world’s first KSI Labubu.” The doll had a completely black-painted face and red bandana, designed to represent KSI, the British YouTuber and rapper.
Let me give you some background. Labubu toys were created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung in 2015. Chinese toy company Pop Mart started mass-producing them in 2019. These collectibles have specific features: round furry bodies, exactly nine sharp teeth, wide eyes, and pointy ears.
The Jungle Pups already had internet fame. Her “24 Karat Gold Labubu” video from July 2025 went viral, showing off a gold-colored Labubu in her distinctive British accent. This made her an internet sensation with millions of followers.
But this KSI creation backfired instantly. Comments flooded in criticizing the black face paint. She deleted the video just 10 minutes after posting. Too late – people had already taken screenshots and screen recordings.
How It Blew Up Across Social Media
Within minutes of the deletion, @g1bsongirl_ reposted the deleted video on Twitter/X on August 1, 2025. That single repost exploded: over 1.3 million views and 21,000 likes in three days.
The timing created a perfect storm. The Jungle Pups was already famous from her gold Labubu success. TikTok became ground zero for reaction videos. Creator @alienhedgeh0g posted videos showing friends’ shocked reactions, gaining over 1.4 million likes. User @itgirlkahei posted a screenshot proving the video was deleted just 19 minutes after posting – this got 270,000 likes.
The algorithm loved this controversy. It combined everything that goes viral: popular toy trends, well-known internet personalities, and racial controversy. Plus, KSI has over 40 million subscribers across his platforms, so his massive fanbase got involved.
This wasn’t just internet drama. It became mainstream discussion because it involved established creators, global toy phenomena, and sensitive racial topics.
Why People Got So Upset About This
This meme struck a nerve because it highlighted ongoing problems with racial insensitivity in internet culture. Many Black users and allies immediately recognized the black-painted face as blackface – those painful racist caricatures from 19th-century minstrel shows.
Gen Z and fandom communities reacted strongly. These groups generally understand social justice issues better and expect creators to know historical context, especially when making content about public figures.
The meme also showed how quickly internet fame turns into infamy. One day you’re beloved for a gold toy video, the next day you’re being called out for racial insensitivity.
Reddit filled with debates about whether the creator deserved forgiveness. TikTok duets showed genuine shock and disappointment from fans who previously admired her work. The controversy hurt because it proved how seemingly innocent content can carry harmful historical baggage when creators don’t educate themselves about cultural context.
What People Did With the Meme After
People transformed this meme as it spread across platforms. Some created parody videos showing “appropriate” ways to make a KSI Labubu without blackface, using brown paint instead. Others made comparison memes showing the doll next to historical blackface images to educate viewers about why the original was offensive.
@e_mail.gmail.com posted a photo slideshow with the caption “24k gold Labubu girl had a fair run,” which got 331,600 likes and became a popular reaction format.
Creators used apps like CapCut and TikTok’s native editing tools to add dramatic music and reaction effects to their response videos. Some remixes showed the Labubu doll being “fixed” with brown paint instead of black. Others created entirely new characters like “Mr. Popo Labubu” referencing the Dragon Ball character who has also been criticized for resembling blackface.
One popular remix by @alienhedgeh0g showed someone breaking the news to a friend in McDonald’s, with the friend’s jaw dropping in shock – this format was widely copied.
These edits changed the meme from simple controversy into an educational tool about racial sensitivity in internet culture. Many creators used it as an opportunity to discuss why blackface is harmful.
@alienhedgeh0g
How Big This Actually Got
The meme caused significant debate about whether the creator should be forgiven. Arguments about education versus punishment played out across social media platforms. Black internet users shared reaction videos and skits, condemning The Jungle Pups’s KSI Labubu video through both discourse and humor.
The controversy sparked discussions about whether internet fame should require cultural literacy. Should creators from countries with different racial contexts be held to the same standards as those from more racially diverse societies?
No platforms banned the content outright, but TikTok’s algorithm started promoting more educational content about blackface and racial sensitivity in response to the controversy.
Where Things Stand Now
People still reference the KSI Labubu meme in August 2025, though its peak has passed. The meme appears most on TikTok and Twitter/X, where users discuss it alongside other internet controversies and creator accountability moments.
Discord servers dedicated to meme culture continue analyzing the incident as a case study in internet accountability and racial sensitivity online.
The meme spread globally but hit hardest in English-speaking countries like the UK, US, and Canada, where discussions about race and internet culture are most prominent. Some regions in Europe and Asia focused more on the Labubu toy trend itself rather than the racial controversy, as the concept of blackface doesn’t carry the same historical weight in all cultures.
In China, where Labubu is manufactured, the controversy received less attention compared to the official Labubu trend, which the government has embraced as a soft power success.
Spin-offs include memes about other “problematic” custom toys and ongoing jokes about “the fall of the 24k gold Labubu lady.” The meme has also become a reference point in discussions about whether internet celebrities should be held to higher standards of cultural awareness.
Key Players
The original creator is @lilzbullzofficial (The Jungle Pups), a British TikToker who first gained fame for content featuring her dogs, which she dyes to look like jungle animals. Her main account is @lilzbullzmarbella with over 1.2M followers. Her account had grown to over a million followers before the controversy, with her “24 Karat Gold Labubu” video being her most viral moment. She lost some followers after the KSI Labubu incident but retained a significant portion of her audience.
KSI, the British YouTuber and rapper whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, never publicly responded to the meme, but his fans were among the most vocal critics. KSI has over 40 million subscribers across his platforms:
He is known for his music, boxing career, and various business ventures including Prime Hydration.
Meme pages like @e_mail.gmail.com and @alienhedgeh0g helped spread the controversy through reaction videos that garnered millions of views. Underground creators on Reddit and smaller TikTok accounts kept the discussion going by creating educational content about blackface history and why the original meme was harmful.
What This Means Going Forward
The KSI Labubu meme will likely fade from daily conversation but remain as a reference point in internet culture discussions. Future memes about creator accountability or racial insensitivity will probably cite this incident as an example of how quickly internet fame can turn to infamy.
Some expect The Jungle Pups to attempt a comeback with educational content about racial awareness, while others predict she’ll gradually fade from internet fame as the controversy settles.
The Labubu toy trend will continue growing globally, with Pop Mart expanding to more countries and releasing new series. The company may even release more diverse skin tones in their official products to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Key Takeaways
- 🕒 Timeline: August 1, 2025 at 4:24 PM GMT (original video, deleted 10 minutes later) → viral within hours → apology August 3 → ongoing discussions through August 2025
- 💻 Key platforms: TikTok (origin), Twitter/X (spread), Reddit (analysis), Discord (ongoing discussion), Instagram (reaction posts)
- 🎭 Main emotion or theme: Outrage at perceived racism, debate about cultural awareness and internet accountability, discussion of historical context in meme creation
- 🔁 Popular variations: Reaction videos showing shock, educational comparisons with historical blackface, parody “correct” versions using brown paint, Mr. Popo references, “24k gold Labubu girl had a fair run” format
- 🌍 Where and how it spread: Started in UK, went global through English-speaking internet, strongest in US/UK/Canada, less impact in Asia where blackface concept has different historical weight
Additional Resources & Links
Creator Profiles:
- The Jungle Pups Main Account (@lilzbullzmarbella) – 1.2M followers
- The Jungle Pups Backup (@lilzbullzofficial) – 667.5K followers
- KSI’s Complete Social Media Presence
- KSI Wikipedia
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